Machine for preparing rolled beef



July 9, 1929.

A. GERSTENKORN MACHINE FOR PREPARING ROLLED BEEF Filed Feb. 13, 1928 4 Sheets-Sheet l F/q- I 19 mo/vr 416/115 Tux MM IN V ENTOR.

ATTORNEYS.

y 9, 929- A. GERSTENKORN MACHINE FOR PREPARING ROLLED BEEF Filed Feb. 13, 1928 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 911 m 0/ Qwmwram;

INVENTOR.

. W y I 7 WM A TTORNEYS.

July19, 1929.

Filed Feb. 15, 1928 4 Sheets-Sheet July 9, 1929. GERSTENKORN 1.720.359

MACHINE FOR PREPARING ROLLED BEEF Filed Feb. 1 5, 1928 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 AW r/m/y/ fmsmwram I N V EN TOR.

ATTORNEYS.

Patented July 9, 1929.

STATES mane PATEL.

r orrice.

MACHINE FOR PREPARING ROLLED BEEF.

Application filed February 13, 1928. Serial No. 253,864.

This lIlvQIllllOll relates to machines for preparing rolled beef preliminary to the usual smoking process.

At the present time the rolled beef is prepared by manual operation, the beef first being wound by a workingman tightly around a needle or pin, the loose end of the same sewed to the body of it, after which a cord is tightly wound in a helical formation around the roll and fastened and finally a loop is made at the one end of the same whereby it may be hung on appropriate hooks in the smoking chambers.

It is obvious that this manual process involves many complicated slow operations, requiring exceptional skill on the part of the workingman, so that it is inefiicient and expensive.

The main object of my invention is to replace said manual operations by mechanical processes and particularly to provide one single machine which will be adapted to execute in a convenient manner all the herein described operations.

Another obj cct of this invention is to pro-- vide a ma hine of the mentioned character which Will execute said. operations in a quicker, cheaper and more perfect nranner than has been done by hand labor.

Still another object of my invention is to provide a machine for executing all the mentioned operations which will be adapted to be i'nanipulated by one single workman.

l eatures of the invention are to be found in a rotatably arranged horizontal shaft having an arm hinged thereon adapted to be opened or to be closed thereon and to rotate therewith. The beef will be clamped between the shaft and the hinged arm and mechanical means are provided to rotate the shaft, while other automatic means will roll up and increasingly compress the beef around the shaft. A. hinged link mechanism arramred in parallelism to the shaft may now be brought into operation, a member of the same having a plurality of needles in a transversal direction to the shaft so that the sewing of the roll along its length may be executed with one single operation. The link mechanism being again thrown out of operation a cord may be guided by a longitudinal screw around the rolled beef in a helical formation and tightly wound thereon,

afterwards the ready roll may he slipped. off from around and between the shaft and the hinged arm.

In order that its construction and operation may be readily comprehended, I will now proceed with a full clear and specific descriptlon of the invention, having reference to the accompanying drawings, which show an approved embodiment thereof, and in which:

Fig. 1 is a front view of my machine;

Fig. 2 is an end View of it, parts of the same being broken away and the link mechanism carrying the sewing needles being thrown out of operation in both Figures.

Fig. 3 is a partly sectional side elevation of my machine showing both the sewing needles and. the beef compressing mechanism in operative positions.

Fig. 4 is a partly sectional plan view of my device illustrating the sewing operation.

Fig. 5 is a semi diagrammatical detail showing the execution of the sewing operation.

Fig. 6 is a view of a ready roll illustrating the sewing and the tightly wound cord there on.

7 and 8 show details of the cord guiding mechanism, while Fig. 9 indicates a modification in the cross section of my rotating shaft and. the hinged arm thereon.

Like characters of reference mark the same parts wherever they occur in the drawings.

Referring now to the drawings by characters of reference, the numeral 10 indicates the supporting frame structure of my machine, having a table 11 thereon. Three bearings 12 are arranged on the table rotatably carrying the shaft 13 which may be driven by an electric motor 14 through a chain 15 and sprocket. wheel 16 or by hand through a crank 17.

The shaft 13 has a universal joint ill (of any of the usual constructions) inserted therein permitting the left hand end of said shaft to be lifted out of line from its stationary right hand portion in any desired direction when the left hand end 19 of the shaft is lifted out of the respective bearing 12. For this purpose a cover12 of the bearing is made hinged and is normally secured by a hinged bolt and wing nut 20 which may be loosened and thrown out of engagement when the cover 12 may be thrown into the position indicated by the dot and dash lines as at 12 The construction of this portion of my machine is not shown in fuller detail since it is a well known standard element in machine building and will be obvious from Fig. 1.

The left hand hinged portion 13" of the shaft is made substantially with a semi-circular cross section and the arm 2i may be secured hingedly thereto leaving an appropriate space 22 therebetween for a major part of their length but closing on the end portion '1 9 of the shaft for a desired distance, completing; the cross section of the two into a full circle so as to permit them to rotate in bearing l2. An upstanding and backwardly extended upper frame structure 23 is secured to the rear of the table carrying the linked frame indicated in general by the numeral 2% and consisting of two supporting link members 25 hinged in the two rear-most upstanding frame members 23 as at 26, kept thereon with yielding pressure by. the spring 27. the two front link members 28, hinged at the upper ends of members 25, as at 29, and also hingedly connected at their lower end to a cross bar or shaft 30, as at 31. The cross bar carries two depending ams 32 sl' .blc thereon, the lower ends of arms 32 being se cured to a cross bar 33 carrying a plurality of sewing needles 34 arranged in pa r llelism. A handle 35 is also arranged on the rront of the needle carrying bar 33. T he whole link frame structure may be thrown out of operating position, as in Fig. 2, or brought down into the operative position. indicated in Fig. 3. A vertically slidable shaft 36 is further arranged in about the center line of the machine underneath the table 11, being guided in a vertical'bearing at 37 ar *anged in a member 38 supported by the table ill and portions of the frame structure 10. A sleeve or collar 39 is secured to the shaft 36 whereby its downward movement is limit-ed. said sleeve 39 resting on the member 38. T he upper end of the shaft 36 carries curved fran'ie structure 40 with a basket like curved chain structure 41 arranged thereecross. The supporting frame 40 consists of two end members 40 and three longitudinal. members ll) secured to each other as Sl10\ n. Braces are secured to'the ends of the middle lo; tudinal member 4-0" and to the collar 39 to further secure the curved frame 4:0 on the top of the shaft 36. Chains a l are secured at. their ends in the respective upper and ion {Iltudinal members 40 in parallelism with one another and in a somewhat slack condition so as to take the curve shown in 2 and thereby form a. somewhat loose yi..-.ding curved basket like structure 41 underneath and along the shaft portion 13. The lower end 36 of the shaft 36 rests on a pedal structure 42 and the shaft and its frame 40 are of such weight, that normally the whole structure will take up the position indicated in Fig. 2 while it may be gradually ".iiscd by a pressure exerted on the pedal plate 12", as indicated in Fig. 3.

A cross bar 43 may be provided secured to the lower upstanding members 523" of the rear frame structure 23 at the center of which a yielding frame 4 .4; is providcd :-twino-dde around a pin 4-5 in the socket member 4-6. V The right hand vertical member l? of the frame is slidably arranged in a horizontal bottom member 41:8 so that it may be :uljusl'ed in positions nearer to or farther away from the left hand stationary vertical member 4.) for whicn purpose a handle is provided thereon. A bore is provided at the bottom o l' the movable frame member i? and corrcspondiug borcs Si in the bra nch 43 may be brought into registering relation with the bore in the member +17 and said member secured in its adjusted position by a pin 52 which may be arranged at the end of a chain 53. (lppof ingrly set pins 54 are provided on the members l7 and 49 and a roller or spool 55 may be arranged on the pins 54-. said roller being adapt ed to receive a comparatively heavy and strong cord 56 (Fig. 2) to be used in tying the rolled and sewed beef tightly together. Springs 57 ar provided yieldably securing the spool in its central position.

To guide the cord 56 a member 58 is provided, made slidable along a transverse shaft 59 arranged between the two lower vertical members 23 and moved by a screw (30 journalcd in bearings (ll in the lower part of said meml'iers Q3 underneath the shaft or rod 59 (Figs. 2 id 7).

The guide 58 consis s of sliding hub (i2 cngaging the shaft 59 by a by and groove :11- rangen'ient and an arm 63 swiogablc as at 63 and having a half nut (ll a t its end. 'lhe nut normally engages the threads on screw (ll) under the influence of spring ()5 and is moved by the screw when the same is rotated. but ma be thrown out of engagement. as indicated by the arrow (ill, and thrown entirely around and over shaft 59 passing a den d point and then being secured in this upper inoperative resting position by the same spring (35, as will be understood.

The nut (i l carries an upstanding arm (37 which has a relatively stationary jaw (i8 and a movable jaw 69 at its upper end (Fig. 8). The mo able jaw (39 is guided on screw bolls 70 having nuts 71 thereon and spring 72 intcrposcd between the nuts and the jaw (if) so as to press the same against the stationary ja w 68 by adjustable pressure. The cord. or rope is lead through between the two jaws and will have to overcome an adjusted :uuouut of friction and kept as taut as desired for the operations to be described hereinafter. A atch or handle 73 may be provided for manipu ating the movable jaw (if) while the half nut 6 1- may be swung into or out of cugagircment by using the arm (57 itself as its handle.

lllli For the driving of the screw 60 a chain drive 74 may be provided between it and the shaft 13 (Fig. 4) with the respective sprocket wheels '5 and 76. By exchanging one or both of the sprocket wheels, the screw 60 may be driven faster or slower in relation to shaft 13 and the cord 56 tied in closer or further windings around the rolled beef, as will be described presently.

On the left hand side of the table 11. a stand 77 may be conveniently arranged carrying the spools 78 with the thinner sewing cord 79 thereon, ready to be used.

The operation and use of my machine may now be described as follows:

A usual flat piece of beef 80 (Fig. 3) will be caught between shaft portion 13- and hinged arm 21 in the space 22 which is made gradually reduced towards the left halnd meeting; ends of the two. as somewhat emiggeratedly shown in Fig. 1, so as to accommodate various thicknesses of beef. The shaft 13 is then set in motion and the frame 40 and basket ll gradually raised by the use of the pedal 42 and rising through the opening 11 in the table 11.- This will cause the beef to be wound or rolled around the shaft 13 and to be compressed to a desired degree, as indicated in Fig. 3.

After the beef is rolled and compressed, temporary hooks 81 may be driven thereinto to hold the end 80 of the same to the body thereof while the sewing operation is being performed.

Instead of the hooks 81 other means may be used for the purpose, so, for instance, releasable means may be provided to lock the frame 4:0 in its uppermost position and so to hold the rolled beef.

The link frame 24 is now brought down from its inoperative and out of the way position. shown in Figs. 1 and 2, into that indi- I calted in Fig. 3 by making use of the handle 35. The bar 33 may now he slid into position, if needed with its needles 34 on shaft- 30 and the needles thrust through the beef, as indicated in Fig. 4:. While these operations are taking place, the link mechanism 2% may be supported by a toothed arm 8:2, rockable on shaft 59 and engaging in one ofthe spaces between its teeth the pin on the link frame 24. its service performed, the arm 82 may be thrown back resting" on a portion 84 of the rear frame 23, as in Figs. 1 and 2.

For the sewing operation the thinner and lighter but strong; and resisting cord or thread 79 now drawn from the spool 78 and across the hooks 34 in needles whereupon the needles are withdrawn, as indicated in Fig". 5, producing the loops across the rolled beef 86.

A hand tool or needle 8'? is taken now, another giece of cord or thread 88 inserted into its hook or eye 87" and drawn across all the loops 85, as indicated by the arrow 81" in Fig.

5. The necessary portion of the cord 79 is now severed from the rest on its spool and drawn tight at its two ends 79 and 79" thereby drawing the loops tightly on the roll of beef. The respective ends of cords or threads 79 and 88 are not tied together and the roll of beef is sewed as indicated at 89 in Fig. 6.

The heavier cord 56 has been kept in rest up to now its guide 58 being preferably at the left hand end of screw shaft 60 where it is of reduced circular cross section without threads.

To prepare the tight windings 90 of Fig. 6 around. the sewed rolled beef, the frame 4:0 is permitted to drop back into its low position or hooks 81 removed from the beef roll, the end of cord 56 tied tightly around the left end of the sewed roll and the shaft 13 and screw 60 set in motion after the half screw 6-1 of guide 58 is inserted into the screw threads about opposite to the left hand end of the beef roll. The rotating roll will pull rope or cord 56 against the adj u. ted friction. in guide 58 and the moving of guide 58 along screw 60 and the rotation of shaft 13 will produce a tight helical rope winding around the roll of beef. When the whole length of the roll is wound with a number of helical turns depending: on and regulated by the relative speeds of shafts 13 and 60, the farther end of cord 56 may be tied tightly to the last turn of it, as at 91, and a remaining end .of the same formed into the loop 92 crossing to the other side of the beef roll 86, whereby to hang it up in the smoking chambers.

All the operations necessary to prepare the roll for smoking: have thus been finished on my single ma chine and in order to remove the ready roll therefrom, the cover of bearing 12 thrown open, shaftportion 13 lifted with the rolled beef thereon ant the roll slipped off from the same.

Instead of the cord 56. I may use lengths of wire, or chains in a similar manner to wind around the roll and these mav be used over and over a gain, thereby effecting further and considerable saving.

The cooperating shaft portion 13 and hinged arm 59 may have the cross section indicated in Fig. 9 so as to better grip the beef end. introduced. between them, by the ac ion of longitudinal groove 93 and key 9%.

Changes and variations may be made in the construction of the parts within the limits of the claims withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention.

As one of such changes. I particularly want to remark that the whole guide 58 may be omitted as well as the drive to screw shaft 60,

rope 56 wound around one or two turns of the screw 60 and the helical winding); of rope 56 around the beef roll accomplished by letting the rope itself rotate shaft 60, its winding; in the screw threacs automatically providing for the taut condition of the rope and for the distribution of helical turns on the beef roll.

What I claim as new, is:

1. In a machine for preparing rolled beef, in combination, means to roll the piece of beef around a central element, means to tighten said roll around said central element, means to sew the free end of the roll to its body and means to wind a cord tightly around said roll.

2. In a machine for preparing rolled beef as set forth in claim 1, said means to roll a piece of beef around a central element consisting of a rotatable shaft, an arm hinged at the one end of the same on said shaft and adapted to clinch the end of the beef between the two.

3. In a machine for preparing rolled beef as set forth in claim 1, said means to tighten the roll around said central element consisting of a substantially semi-cylindrical member underneath and in line with the roll to be pro duced, being normally in a lowered position, but adapted to be gradually raised and engage a roll of beef.

4. In a machine for preparing rolled beef as set forth in claim 1, said means to tighten the roll of beef around its central element consisting in a substantially semi-cylindrical basket, structure composed of a frame and slack chains thereacross, a slidable vertical shaft for the frame, means to normally kep said basket structure in a lowered position and a pedal adapted to yieldably and gradually raise said basket structure and engage the beef.

5. In a machine for preparing rolled beef as set forth in claim 1, said means to sew the roll of beef including a plurality of needles secured in parallelism with one another in a frame adapted to simultaneously pierce the beef roll therewith, said needles having hooked ends whereby to withdraw a pluralit of cord loops through the body of the beef to form stitches tl'ierethrough.

6. In a machine for preparim rolled beef as set forthin claim 1, said means to sew the beef roll including a hinged link structure; a plurality of needles having hooked ends attached thereto, said structure being adapted to throw said needles in line with the beef roll, or out of line therefrom.

7. In a machine for preparing rolled beef as set forth in claim 1, said means to tightly wind a cord around the beef roll including a source of cord and a rotatable screw shaft in parallelism with the beef roll and adapted to guide a cord in helical formation around the beef roll.

8. In a machine for preparing rolled beef as set forth in claim 1, said means to wind a cord around a beef roll including a source of cord; a guide means for the cord adapted to exert adjustable frictional resistance to the passing of the cord therethrough; a shaft in parallelism with the beef roll, and cooperating elements on the shaft and guide means to lead said guide along the shaft.

9. In a machine for preparing rolled beef as set forth in claim 1, said means to wind a cord around a beef roll including a. source of cord; a guide means for the cord adapted to exert adjustable frictional resistance to the passing of the cord therethrough; a shaft in parallism with the beef roll, and cooperating elements on the shaft and guide means to lead said guide along the shaft, said cooperating means comprising screw threads provided both on the shaft and guide means.

10. In a dcyice for preparing rolled beef, means to roll a piece of beef around a central element consisting of a rotatable shaft, an arm hinged at the one end of the same on said shaft and adapted to clinch the end of the beef between the two.

11. In a device for preparing rolled beef, means to tighten the roll around a central element consisting of a substantially semi-eylindrical member underneath and in line with the roll to be produced, being normally in a lowered position, but adapted to be gradually raised and engage a roll of beef.

12. In a device for preparing rolled beef, means to tighten the roll of beef around it. central element consisting in a substantially s mi-cylindrical basket structure composed of a frame and slack chains there-across. a slidable vertical shaft for the same, means to normally keep said basket structure in a lowered position, and a pedal adapted to yieldably and gradually raise said basket structure and engage the beef therewith.

13. In a device for preparing rolled beef, 'means to sew the roll of beef inchiding a plurality of needles secured in parallelism with one another .in a frame adapted to simultaneously pierce. the beef roll therewith, said needles having hooked ends whereby to withdraw a plurality of cord loops through the body of the beef to form stitches therethrough.

14. In a. device for preparing rolled beef, means to sew the beef roll including a hinged link structure; a plurality of needles having hooked ends attached thereto, said structure being adapted to throw said needles in linewith the beef roll, or out of line therefrom.

Signed at New York. in the county of New York, and State of New York, this 9th day of February, A. D. 1928.

ANTHONY GERCTENKORN.

llU 

